Stephanie Hansen, a single mom, gave birth to three baby girls in less than a year and they’re not triplets.
Stephanie gave birth to daughter Daphne came first on Jan. 28, 2020. 10 months later, on Dec. 8, she gave birth to twin daughters Rubie and Penelope.
Speaking recently to TODAY Parents, Stephanie Hansen said: “It’s total chaos. But it’s the best chaos.”
Stephanie’s second pregnancy came as a total shock to her because she was already in a new relationship with another man.
She found out she was pregnant when she tried getting birth control to prevent herself from getting pregnant in her new relationship.
She recalled: “In order to get on birth control, I had to take a pregnancy test.”
The test showed she was already pregnant again.
Dr. Christine Greves, an OB-GYN at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando, Florida, told TODAY Parents that ovulation can return as soon as six weeks after a baby is born.
“After pregnancy, women aren’t necessarily cognizant of what their cycle is,” Greves explained. “But if you got pregnant once, it’s possible to get conceive again, even if you don’t think you’re ovulating.”
Hansen says that’s exactly what happened to her.
She said: “I was in a newborn fog, and [then] there was the excitement of this new relationship. I was just adjusting to everything.”
Daphne is now 2, while Penelope and Rubie are 15 months old. The three siblings are inseparable.
“They are the Three Musketeers,” Hansen said. “They’re on the same schedule. They eat, bathe and play together. They share a room.”
Though Hansen is no longer romantically involved with Penelope and Rubie’s father, the two remain friends and co-parents.
She said: “When we broke up I was devastated. But I said to myself, ‘I’ve got this. We’re not going to sit around in our pajamas crying. We can sink or swim.’ ”
“It’s not always easy,” she added. “But I am the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life. These kids are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
This isn’t the first time a woman would give birth to three babies that are not triplets in less than a year.
In 2020, Emma Geairns, who was told by doctors that she had a slim chance of conceiving naturally, became a mum of three in just one year, after having identical twins soon after her first-born daughter.
